Have some questions about my new coop

[americanshorty26]

Hey, I have six chicks that I just put into the new chicken coop. Well auctually it is an old playhouse that I used to play in but I converted it into a coop. Currently, for the flooring I have three tarps down to hopefully make clean up better. I hope to put perminent linoleum down. My question is, what do I put on top of the tarps for bedding or whatever or where will they sleep? On the floor or in the boxes?

Thanks for any help. I am new to this and a little nervous to have them out there all night for the first time.

 

[jadude]

some people make roosts i will let the coop have a dirt floor so the chickens can make holes and sleep in them

 

[Daycare Mom]

Currently, for the flooring I have three tarps down to hopefully make clean up better. I hope to put perminent linoleum down. My question is, what do I put on top of the tarps for bedding or whatever or where will they sleep? On the floor or in the boxes?

I would put down linoleum tiles (cheap and easy) and then cover the floor with shavings. You will need to put up some roosts for them to sleep on. You should do a search on roosts on this site and you will get some great ideas of what you need.​

 

[s6bee]

They will prefer to sleep on a roost if you provide it. You don't want them in the nests. A question I have is what is your winter climate like? I gave my hens a larger, wider roost so that when they roost at night, they can sit on thier feet and cover them with their bodies. I used a 1x2.
Pine shavings I think are the best for bedding on the floor of the coop. If you do a compost pile they will breakdown easier too.

 

[americanshorty26]

I live in Michigan, so it does get pretty cold during the winter. I have 8 large pine trees in the front of my house. If I took the dead needles from the ground would that work? Also, for a roost, how high should it be and why cant they sleep in the nest boxes?

 

[Chirpy]

Welcome to BYC! We're glad you found us.

Personally, I don't like the lino tiles as 'stuff' tends to get in between the cracks and collect over time. I love linoleum for the floor of the coop though - it's really easy to clean. I use pine shavings over the lino and use the DLM (deep litter method). It has kept my coop clean and with no smell.

I don't know about using the pine needles but I'm thinking that it wouldn't be a good idea. I hope someone with real knowledge in that area sees this and chimes in.

You do want to offer roosts for your chickens. Although some will sleep on the floor, they almost always prefer being up on a roost; the higher the better for most breeds. You will want to offer a 'ladder' of some sort for them to jump down onto when getting off a high roost though. They can hurt their feet by jumping from high heights to the floor. Some breeds, like Silkies, don't usually like high roosts so you need to research your breeds.

You don't want them sleeping in the nest boxes. You will end up with poopy eggs and that's gross and hard to break. So, start them on roosts right away so you don't have to break them of a bad habit later on. You want your roosts away from the nest boxes, the waterer and feeder and not directly over another roost. Anything under a roost will have loads of poop on it.

I prefer using a 2x4 with the 4" side up for mine to roost on. In cold weather that makes it possible for them to cover their feet and not have any issues with frostbite.

 

[scooter147]

shorty,
If you have a chance to get to garage sales this weekend look for old wooden ladders. They can be an easy solution to roosts. Buy several and you can just lean them up against the wall or I knew someone who took two old saw horses and laid an old wooden ladder accross them and secured with nails, it worked perfectly for him.

 

[americanshorty26]

wow thanks! That definatel answered some questions but brought up some others. Someone mentioned a deep liter method. What is that? Also, should I cover up the nesting boxes until they are ready to lay? Will they know to lay in there when the time comes?

Thanks for all the great advice.

Amy

 

[3 sisters farm]

You can get remnant linoleum/vinyl flooring at many places, Lowes Home Depot but also smaller family run places may even give it to you. Also try craigs list and "freecycle" freecycle is free...goal recycle stuff. I got a piece of Craiglist today....free. I have plywood....but soon vinyl

 

[Heather J]

Quote:
I would put down linoleum tiles (cheap and easy) and then cover the floor with shavings. You will need to put up some roosts for them to sleep on. You should do a search on roosts on this site and you will get some great ideas of what you need.

I suppose the linoleum tiles would be better than nothing, but I would never use them because they peel up, water gets between them and ruins the subfloor, and you're always getting dirt between the cracks.